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The Man On The Hill

As you know, if we see a snowflake in the UK the whole country grinds to a halt, and today we have a little more than that (hope you like the pics and short video of my back garden). So, it is appropriate, that since my place of work sits up on high ground six miles from here, and my place of work is shut because of the snow, I have got the chance to write a blog post called, “The Man On The Hill”. It is an old Zen parable, but I have put my own spin on it and will relate it in my own way of speaking.

Three friends were out walking, and in the distance, high up on a hill, they could see a man, seemingly just standing there. As they walked, they started to speculate amongst themselves as to what he was doing. The first man said, “I think he is looking for his dog”. The second man said, “no, I think he is looking for his friend”. The third man said, “no, you are both wrong, I think he is just getting some fresh air”. As they walked, they continued to have the discussion and eventually they found themselves following the path leading up the hill.

After a while they reached where the man was standing and curiosity got the better of them. “Excuse me”, said the first man, “but we couldn’t help but wonder what you are doing, are you looking for your dog”? “No, I’m not”, came the reply. The second man spoke up, “then are you looking for your friend”? “No”, came the reply again. The third man then asked, “are you just enjoying the fresh air”? For the third time, the man answered, “no I’m not”. The three friends, completely baffled, then asked, “If you are not engaged in any of those things can you please tell us what you are doing”? “I’m just standing”, replied the man.

“Just standing”, could be “just chopping wood”, “just washing up”, “just cutting the grass”, but what the man is really saying is, “I’m just being”. The three friends are typical of the monkey-like chatter of the egoic mind. It didn’t even occur to them that the man could be “just standing”, they had to pigeonhole what he was doing. So, they created several imaginary stories as they speculated their way along the path. It is no coincidence that there are three of them; the three friends being symbolic of the holy trinity of the physical world. We can also relate the three friends to the three states that we experience in this world of matter; waking, dream and deep sleep. The man “just standing” represents the “God-state” of Turiya, which exists beyond all triads.

This is what makes Zen so wonderfully unique in relation to other religions. Zen, “The Experience of Pure Knowing”, will awaken within you when you are ready. A Zen master will simply give you the key to open up the knowing that has always existed within you. Whereas, a teacher of religion will fill your head with knowledge based on the past. Knowledge = Non-sense; Knowing = God-sense.

I will just finish off by sharing with you something rather ironic that occurred to me as I was pondering writing this post. All the great spiritual masters who founded the religions of the world, were exceptional souls who broke the mould. They did not follow the crowd; on the contrary, they were inspirational leaders and exceptional individuals. But to be a follower of an organised religion means that you have to be the exact opposite of the religion’s founder; in other words you have to conform to convention. To be a Christian for example, you have to be an Anti-Christ, you have to become a sheep and follow the crowd. Christ himself did not advocate hierarchy; all were equal in his eyes. Now there are hundreds and hundreds of Christian cults and sects, all run by committees and people (mainly men) with titles, who dictate to the masses in accordance with their own limited understanding. This is an indication of the man-made, egoic nature of organised religion. I have written many times about this. The spirit evolves via the adventure of experience, not by conforming to outdated, fear-based, man-made rules, regulations and rituals. CAN I GET AN AMEN? Maybe not…

2 thoughts on “The Man On The Hill”

Well said dear Richard. I classify myself as a Sheep, hope not a black one – tongue in cheek- long way to go for reaching Turiya stage. Could the excessive snow be due to Polar vortex effect that caused severe weather in Mid west and North in US very recently?